Hi again,

Oh ok i think i see why i thought this was a joke at first. I interpreted the current year to actually be the current year we are living in at the time. In other words, that would mean the algorithm (which is what these all are anyway) would have produced 2019 once we get to next year after January 1st, and 2020 on the following year, and 2021 next year after that, etc. So the fact that an algorithm could actually be sensitive to time itself seemed funny when there is no time data being inserted

Although I haven't seen any for a number of years (hopefully it was a fad that died out, but that probably means it will come back), there used to always be some e-mail that made the rounds just after new year in which you took your age or some other seemingly important number that was somewhat personal to you -- sometimes it was the last four of your social security number or of your phone number or the number in your street address or your zip code -- and did this and did that and then, when all was said and done, it produced the value of the new year. All of them always had some constant that was involved somewhere in the algorithm.

It was then always proclaimed that hundreds of really smart people had never been able to figure out how it works. Of course, in the overwhelming number of cases, anyone that had ever paid attention in junior high algebra could figure out why the "personal number" had zero effect on the output and how to determine the magic constant for any given year.

Some were definitely better than others, but most really could be figured out by any decent eighth grader.

 

Although I haven't seen any for a number of years (hopefully it was a fad that died out, but that probably means it will come back), there used to always be some e-mail that made the rounds just after new year in which you took your age or some other seemingly important number that was somewhat personal to you -- sometimes it was the last four of your social security number or of your phone number or the number in your street address or your zip code -- and did this and did that and then, when all was said and done, it produced the value of the new year. All of them always had some constant that was involved somewhere in the algorithm.

It was then always proclaimed that hundreds of really smart people had never been able to figure out how it works. Of course, in the overwhelming number of cases, anyone that had ever paid attention in junior high algebra could figure out why the "personal number" had zero effect on the output and how to determine the magic constant for any given year.

Some were definitely better than others, but most really could be figured out by any decent eighth grader.

Hi,

Yeah the numerical ones usually are not that hard to figure out.
I used to like the logic problems, where there were a bunch of statements about people doing things and wearing certain things and you had to figure out what each person was wearing and where they went and what they ate for dinner that night, etc. It took a little time to solve those kind. Havent done one in years now though. The harder ones involved several people.

 

I think you all need to go and watch the film ‘hidden figures.’
It’s about the women who worked for NASA doing the number crunching.
Now if you can do what they do, then I will be amazed!!

 

I think you all need to go and watch the film ‘hidden figures.’
It’s about the women who worked for NASA doing the number crunching.
Now if you can do what they do, then I will be amazed!!

It was a good film. I wish they had stayed closer to the truth, but just doing some reading to see where it strayed was quite educational in and of itself.

 

hehehe good try